Such an articulation is, for example, described in patent applications FR 2 635 077 and FR 2 902 763. This articulation takes the form of a mechanical system that is self-driven allowing it to open and therefore allowing the elements connected to it to be deployed. The articulation comprises two articulation fittings made to rotate under the action of at least one flexible element. The articulation is held without play by means of rolling strips that cross around the articulation fittings and are kept under tension by two rollers fitted with flexible tracks, each belonging to one of the articulation fittings. The articulation comprises a device for keeping it in what is known as the stored position, this for example being achieved by means of an explosive bolt or bolt cutter positioned in the region of the solar panels to which the articulation is attached.
The flexible element is for example formed by a Carpentier joint which applies a driving torque to cause the articulation to pass from its storage position into a position known as the deployed position. The drive torque is very uneven over the travel of the articulation and this leads to a speed of opening that is likewise uneven.
Moreover, in order to be certain of achieving the deployed position, it is necessary for the flexible element used to generate the torque that deploys the articulation to be oversized. For example, it is necessary to take into consideration the resistive torques due, for example, to the electrical cables situated between the panels and the friction inherent to any articulation. This oversizing means that energy is restored at the end of deployment in the form of an impact against the end stops of the articulation. The energy absorbed by the end stops is dependent on the speed of impact, and therefore difficult to predict. The oversizing of the driving element of the articulation leads to an oversizing of the articulation end stops and of the elements connected by the articulation which likewise experience impacts at the end of deployment.